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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke and his wife head to visit Sarajevo located in Bosnia but a bomb is thrown at their auto. Fortunately, it misses. Though as they continue their journey, they are later shot and killed by a solitary assassin otherwise known as an angry citizen. Austrians believed the assassin was a Serbian nationalist so they turned their anger towards Serbia. The U.S was involved afterwards with the formation of alliances of countries such as France, Italy, UK, Russia, and Japan. -
Declaring War
Great Britain declares war on Germany. The declaration is binding on all Dominions within the British Empire including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. President Woodrow Wilson declared the United States neutrality with WWI. -
The Sinking of Lusitania
The British passenger liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-Boat off the coast of Ireland. It sinks in 18 minutes and drowns 1,201 people. The U.S is involved in this because 128 of the 1,201 people who died were Americans. President Woodrow Wilson of the U.S sends four diplomatic protests to Germany. -
The Election
Americans re-elected Democratic President Woodrow Wilson who defeated former associate justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican candidate. Wilson campaigned using the slogan, "He kept us out of war" since he kept the United States out of conflict with WWI with neutrality and it supported public opinions as well. -
Zimmermann Telegram
A British naval intelligence intercepted and decrypted a telegram sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Ambassador in Mexico City. The message included plans for an alliance between Germany and Mexico against the United States. Germany would provide support and Mexico would avail by expanding into the American Southwest. The telegram passed on from the British to Americans that turns public. This caused Americans to have public anger against Germany for their offers. -
Declaring War
The United States declares war on German Empire after President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to pass the Declaration of War which they do. The U.S joins France, Great Britain, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Italy otherwise known as the Central Powers. They were against Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, their Allies. -
U.S Troops to France
The first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops landed in France at the port of Saint Nazaire. The landing site had been kept secret because of the menace of German submarines. These first major contingent soldiers were known as the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). The troops went to fight alongside the allied powers against Germany since they had recently entered the war. -
Sedition Act of 1918
Woodrow Wilson's decision to bring the United States into the First World War brought widespread opposition. To suppress this, the Sedition Act was passed and covered a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds. It passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France. -
End of WWI
An armistice was signed between the Germans and the Allies, ending World War I. The infusion of American troops and resources into the western front finally tipped the scale in the Allies' favor. The armistice was effective at 11 am. Fighting continues all along the Western Front until then with 2,000 casualties experienced that day by all sides. Artillery barrages erupt near 11am until the last shot is fired. -
Versailles Peace Treaty
At the Palace of Versailles in France, a German delegation signs the Treaty, formally ending the war with 230 pages containing terms that have little in common with Wilson's Fourteen Points. Germans back home reacted by blaming the war on Germany. The Treaty was rejected by the U.S Senate twice, in 1919 and 1920 due to senators believing it would violate upon U.S. sovereignty and Congress's power to declare war.. The U.S Congress ultimately signed a separate peace treaty with Germany in 1921.